New Foster Dog...Behavior??

[Silverwind]

I work at an animal shelter and yesterday I brought home this little dog named Oreo. It was an impulsive thing- some of the other dogs beat him up and he was hurt and there was nowhere else to put him so I brought him home. He has a very sore ear right now. But aside from being a bit defensive of his ear, which is totally normal and understandable, he is a very, very good boy. He is sweet, cuddly, nice to my kids and puppy and leaves the cat alone. He's very clean and slept in his kennel last night with no problems. One thing though- he was playing with a squeaky stuffed animal and I couldn't tell if he was being playful or possessive. He was growling and wouldn't release it, his hackles weren't up so he could have been playing tug, but his tail was not wagging so I wasn't sure. In the end I put the toy away because I wasn't sure. What do you think?

[Reg]

It sounds like a wise move to put the toy away. The puppy is under heavy stress so he just needs time and some TLC until he adjusts to your surroundings.

Talking to him and making a bit of a fuss over him helps a lot too. All you can do is play it by ear.

It will be interesting to hear how you make out with it.

[Silverwind]

Yes I did just keep it put away. I might try again with different toys later, but he is an older guy I think, and I didn't want to stress him, or make him look bad to my husband who is iffy on whether or not he wants an extra critter in the house. So far he is a very good boy

[Marty11]

Hello I had a manchester terrier with a high prey drive. I couldn't let him play with stuffed animals or anything that squeaked. I remember he had this teenie stuffed squirrel and i had to take it away because he was would guard it. So that removed he was fine. But watch around wildlife and cats he could be a chaser.

[hazelrunpack]

Lucky Oreo, having an angel take him out of the shelter! So glad you were able to take him. Any chance of getting some pics of him when he's settled in a bit? (Yes, I will unabashedly beg for pics that way.... Would love to see more of the pup and the kitty, too...wink wink nudge nudge )

[Silverwind]

Actually I have a couple good ones already. So far, he gets along with Betsy, our 8 month old pug mix and submissively avoids Lily our cat. He hasn't noticed the guinea pigs yet. But he is great with the kids and very sweet. I won't give back the little stuffies for now. I want his good side to shine through, and he is a very good boy!

[Silverwind]

I've been really bad about not taking pics lately! Betsy is hard to photograph because she is always on the move! But I'll take some today and post asap. We had Betsy spayed a couple of weeks ago, and built a "catio" for Lily to escape to